EXTENDING their involvement with conservation work, 12 adult service users who attend the Ridgeway Centre in Weymouth are currently engaged in tidying up the Mesolithic site at Culverwell, Portland.

Under the supervision of day service officers Bill Pitney and Peter Wilson, from Dorset Social Services, the willing volunteers are doing sterling work at the ancient Stone Age village in preparation for the coming tourist season.

Grass cutting and fence repair are among the urgent jobs being tackled by the team.

And, under the guidance of Susann Palmer, who has been a major force in researching and restoring the Stone Age site, they have repaired the Mesolithic shelter which was built last summer - only to be blown down by the winter storms.

One of the service users, Keith Rose, 46, said: "I enjoy being here to do this work and I also like the stories Mrs Palmer tells us about life here 7,500 years ago."

Mrs Palmer said: "The Association for Portland Archaeology values the work which is being carried out by the Ridgeway team in this project which was set up by Bill Pitney and we hope that it will be ongoing."

Mr Pitney said that conservation work was something that Ridgeway would like to extend, with the help of their volunteers from among the service users.